The Louisiana Gulf Coast Herpetological Society and the Louisiana Reptile & Amphibian Task Force met with Major Mark Manes of the Enforcement Division of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries. The requirement of 1000 hours for a venomous permit was reduced to 500 hours. The provision for denial of a permit for wildlife violations was removed. The section identifying constrictors that may exceed 12 feet was left intact. Major Manes explained that since not having a permit for a constrictor over 12 feet was going to be a criminal offense, it needed the identification of those species. You would only need a permit for constrictors when they exceed 12 feet. At this time of discussion, permits would only be issued one time, not annually, and there would be no permit fees. The LGCHS website, www.lgchs.org, will post these revisions as soon as they come back from the LDWF.
~Bill Watts~ LGCHS Legislaive Committee Chairman
Louisiana Gulf Coast Herpetological Society